Seeker
by June Goddess
Summary: Third Season. Mainly about Isabel... and the one she loves. I can't give away more than that. Just read. And review. I love reviews. NOTE: Rating just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimers apply. Read and review, please. I always enjoy a review. And check out my other stories, if you'd like. Let me know what you think I should pick up again.

_Seeker_

**Author: June Goddess**

Isabel sighed tiredly as the front door slammed shut. She and Jesse had had yet _another_ fight. Marriage was not supposed to be this difficult. Yes, she had lied about her origins, but there had been no time to tell him. Their courtship had been a whirlwind, and their marriage was still so new. _They_ were still so new. Maybe that was the problem.

_But I love Jesse_, she thought in anguish. But maybe love was not enough. _Not for me anyway_. A bitter burst of laughter escaped her. Memories of Max and Liz, and Michael and Maria over the years flooded her mind. Love was certainly enough for them.

Max and Liz, for God's sake, were the classic Romeo and Juliet in modern times. The star-crossed lovers who always found their way back to each other, no matter what. Max healed Liz when she was shot. Liz left Max to save the world. Max impregnated another woman, and Liz still loved him and forgave him. Liz went to jail for Max. Liz was forbidden to see Max, and left for Vermont. Max died for Liz. Liz brought him back. Tragedy after tragedy, and still they were together.

Michael and Maria… Now that was still a couple that completely baffled her. Michael "Stone Wall" Guerin and Maria "Spaz Extraordinaire" DeLuca. Two people so different, yet both tuned into the same wavelength. Frequently on-again-off-again, they, too, always made their way back to each other. Michael stayed on Earth for Maria. Maria did anything for Michael.

What did she have? A failing marriage, suspicious parents, and a feeling of deep-seated regret. She was beginning to think marriage to Jesse Ramirez had been her biggest mistake. Well, her second biggest. Her biggest mistake was ever letting Alex go. His death had shaken her to the core and left her changed in so many ways. While he was alive, she had spent most of her time looking in any direction but his. It had taken him almost getting over her for her to realize just what he meant to her. So little time they had had before the end.

With a shock, Isabel realized she was sobbing so hard and so deeply she could barely breathe. The pain of losing Alex hit her too deeply to ever heal. She tried to stop but the tears kept coming. _How funny. Liz left Max to save the world, to save Michael and me. But the day Alex died was the day my world ended._ Her bitter thoughts and cherished remembrances carried her into the world of dreams… A world where Alex had never died. A world where Isabel was happy.

When Jesse came home later, it was to see his wife slumped on the living room sofa, tear-soaked and sleeping. With a sigh and a troubled heart, he gently lifted her and carried her into their bedroom. He tucked her into bed, and pulled a chair to her bedside. Far into the night and the early morning he watched her sleep. Watched her toss and turn. Watched in anguish at the pain he could not ease. He listened to her breathe. Listened to her cries. Listened with despair as she whispered a name not his.


	2. Chapter 2

-1_Seeker_

Chapter Two

The soft, yet intrusive, noises of morning awoke Isabel. _Damn birds_, she thought absentmindedly. She opened her eyes and slowly adjusted to the morning, a new day. Golden sunlight streamed through the window and created a warm glow in the room. Dust motes lazily danced in the ribbons of light. The lavender scent she used on the bedding was refreshing, but there was another scent tickling her senses. So familiar…

She sat up with a gasp. Her eyes immediately sought out Jesse's form sprawled in a chair next to her. A tiny smile lit up her tired eyes as she watched her husband continue to sleep. He looked so cute to her, a slight furrow to his brows due to his less than comfortable position. Though she would never tell him, he had an adorable pout. The smile faded as another scent reached her: Alcohol.

Jesse had been drinking. Again. Almost every night since he had discovered her secret, he had gone out drinking. She no longer allowed alcohol in the house, so he always left. She turned away from his sleeping form and slid from the bed. She silently padded to the bathroom. She turned on the cold water and splashed the remnants of sleep from her face. She was vaguely disgusted by his lack of control. The only person she had ever been exposed to who drank with any regularity had been Hank, Michael's foster father. Ever since meeting that foul human, she had naturally assumed a dislike for alcoholic beverages.

She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. With a critical eye, she noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the lackluster quality of her eyes, the perpetually down-turned corners of her mouth. _Why doesn't Jesse notice how unhappy I am?_ she thought. A part of her wondered what Alex would think, if he was alive. _Alex would make sure I smiled. Alex would never let me fall into unhappiness._ Her fond reverie of her dead love was cut short as she again saw herself in the mirror.

In amazement, she traced the outline of her features. For the first time in a long time, she saw something in her face she did not realize had been missing. Just the thought of Alex was enough to light up her eyes. Her smile was back, that smile he said captivated him. Though she could do nothing about those dark circles, the glow of her face subdued their intensity. _Only Alex_, she thought with love. _What about Jesse?_ a small part of her guiltily whispered, but she quashed the thought ruthlessly. "Only _Alex_," she whispered fiercely to her reflection.

With a start, she realized she was literally glowing. A radiant, golden glow was emitting from her skin. It was spreading! At an alarming rate. The bathroom disappeared in the glow, and her mirrored eyes were the last thing she saw before she was completely blinded.

Vision slowly returned, but her surroundings were different, leaving her disoriented. Everything was whitewashed and blurred around the edges. She felt disconnected from her body, like she was dreamwalking. _But I'm not asleep_, she thought nervously. _What is this?_

As she looked around, she saw minimal furnishings. She was obviously in a room of some sort. There was a faint blur to her right she automatically labeled as a kitchenette. She did not know how she knew, but she did. Almost in front of her was a chair, a big, over-stuffed chair, next to a window. Had it been a color, she was certain in would have been blue. To her left she saw a bed, haphazardly made, the coverlet mussed. There were no colors, but she was positive that it, too, would have been blue. A darker medium blue, such as is seen in the early morning before even the predawn.

_A studio apartment_, she thought. _Definitely a man's apartment_. There was little to no decoration. Nothing laying about. The place seemed almost empty. Void. _Except for the guitar behind the bed._ If she had had a corporeal body in this state, she would have frozen. _What guitar?_ But she already knew. There was definitely a guitar. She did not know how she knew, but she did. Nervously, she looked around again. There was something dimly familiar about this room.

Just as there were no colors, there was no sound. But she knew the moment a key was inserted in the door lock and the doorknob was turned. She "heard" as the new occupant dropped the keys onto the table next to the door.

_No_, she thought, puzzled._ I'm not hearing it. I don't hear anything._ The other occupant sighed heavily, tiredly - _I feel it! _But that was just odd. How could she feel someone sigh? But she could. That sigh reverberated throughout her body. She shivered slightly. The feeling was just so intimate. More intimate than anything she had felt with Jesse. It was intense, consuming. It was comforting, natural. It was… like a connection.

Shocked, the part of her mind that was in that strange hazy place brought her back to her body. She was still staring at herself in the mirror above the sink in her bathroom. She looked into the bedroom. The dust motes still danced their lazy dance in the sunlight. Jesse was still passed out in the chair. His pouty expression was no longer cute. Rather, it was annoying. She easily dismissed him from her mind as she turned back to the mirror.

There was something different. Something she could not quite place. She analyzed her reflection with the easy skill of the "Christmas Nazi," as Max and Michael had so fondly dubbed her. A warmth spread through her unexpectedly. Her brow furrowed in confusion. _What is that?_ Concentrating on the source, she realized she was aware of another being. Knowing without knowing how, she knew it was the man from the studio apartment, the man from her vision.


	3. Chapter 3

_Seeker_

Chapter Three

_Tess is back._ Isabel sat in shock, hearing Jesse's voice repeat those three words. Dread filled her. Tess was capable of murder. Tess had killed one of their own, a human. Alex. Alexander Charles Whitman, his tombstone read. That tombstone was a cherished place in her heart, however morbid that was. It was her Alex that had died at the hands of that psychotic alien hybrid. Tess was a murderer. And she was back.

_Tess is back._

_Tess is back._

_Tess is-_

"Isabel?" Jesse's voice penetrated the loop, the memories. "Honey, are you all right?"

Looking at him, Isabel could not fathom why he was calling her 'honey.' Then she remembered that the man in front of her was her husband, Jesse Ramirez. "Uh... no. No, I'm not all right," her voice gained strength. She turned to her adoptive parents. "Look, there's no time to explain, but we have to get Tess and the baby out of here, okay?"

"What?" Diane gasped. "What is going on, Isabel?

"I said there's no time! We have to go now!" she exploded in panic. A knock at the door interrupted her. She went taut as a spring.

"You are going to explain yourself," Philip demanded sternly. She looked at him, wishing, not for the first time, to have Tess's mindwarping abilities.

"There are bad people after Max's baby." Her voice was low and urgent, desperate for them to trust her.

"This is the United States Air Force! Open this door now!" The muffled shout filled the silence.

Philip looked to Isabel in disbelief. "_Those _are the bad people after Max's baby?" While Diane asked again, "What is going on here?"

Anger abruptly filled her. And trepidation. Max had come back into the room. He looked just how she felt. The resignation on his face gave her a new determination. Max was the king, he was supposed to be strong. But he was her brother. She had to be strong for him. Opening herself to the connection she had felt the week before, she let an inner calm buoy her. She turned back to their parents.

"Max's baby is an alien. So am I."

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity. Max, Tess, and the baby hurried out the back door with brief hugs and admonitions to be safe. Philip answered the door, while everyone else regained some sort of composure. The men in uniforms streamed through the front door over Philip's demands for a search warrant. They were all over the house. Isabel watched in horror as the videotape of her using her powers was confiscated from the VCR.

Jesse herded her into the kitchen. "Don't worry," he whispered into her hair. She felt a warmth, but knew it was not from the tenderness her husband displayed. The connection was still open, and there was an outpouring of affection and reassurance from her mysterious companion.

To let Jesse know she heard, she squeezed his hand, and smiled briefly. His answering smile set off a wave of guilt at the betrayal she was committing against her husband. Granted, she had done nothing untoward with anyone. But she loved another, not her husband.

At last, they were released from custody, and the Air Force officials tracked Tess's scent away from the house. Isabel bid her parents goodnight and got into the car with Jesse.

The car ride home was silent. She felt his eyes on her, worried, when he was not watching the road. The silence was oppressive, but she did not want to talk. Talking about Tess led to other subjects. Such as Alex. Somehow Alex had never come up in their relationship. 'Somehow?' she thought disparagingly. 'I purposefully kept everything about Alex from Jesse. When Jesse asked me if I had ever been in love, I said he was the first. When Jesse asked me about the guitar pick I wore as a necklace, I told him I used to play and it was a good luck charm. I never told him that Alex gave it to me after he played a song for me. He wrote that song, too. For me. For us.'

They were home, and Jesse had opened her door, waiting for her to come out of the car.

"Rough night," he muttered.

_Understatement of the year goes to… _ "Yeah," she muttered noncommittally.

"Isabel?" Again, that worried tone.

She sighed. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

They went inside. They had no sooner turned on the lights than Michael was pounding on the door, Max and Tess behind him. Tess was carrying the baby closely, possessively. There was a strangely maternal softness to her as she instinctively rocked the baby and made soothing sounds.

Isabel savagely torn her eyes from the striking scene and tried to recall how much she hated Tess. It was not hard. All she had to do was bring Alex's face to the forefront of her mind, and a blazing fire of hatred for Tess was ignited.

Michael was on the phone, agitated. _Maria_, she thought, amused. _That's definitely his "Maria voice."_

Within a half hour, everyone was gathered in the Ramirez household living room. Liz and Maria were in the doorway to the kitchen, Maria acting as a guard between Liz and Tess. As Isabel met Liz's eyes, she noticed they were darker and tighter than before. The skin around her mouth was very white, and her lips were a thin line. A suspicious crackle of green energy snapped from her hand as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Isabel looked away quickly. Perhaps Maria was more of a buffer.

Michael was across the room, studiously ignoring Maria. It was obvious in how he looked in any direction but hers that he was anything but ignoring her. Isabel rolled her eyes at their childishness. Yet a part of her warmed with affection for her other brother's attitude. It really was funny how he and Maria reacted to each other.

Kyle and his father were nearest the door. They appeared ready to bolt, Kyle more so than his father, Jim. Kyle looked like a ball of nervous energy. He kept glancing at Tess, then pulling his eyes away and pacing. Each time he set eyes on the blonde alien, his eyes got wider and more wild. If Kyle had come into his powers already, she knew he would be blowing up every object in her house.

Tess was in the corner, her back to the wall. At some point she had become separated from her son. She no longer had a maternal glow to her. She seemed more like a hunted animal, waiting to fight for survival. Isabel shivered at the animalistic look in the other woman's eyes. There was something else, though. There was a deadness in that look.

She walked to the window and waited. The stars were shining down. The waiting continued. There were seven cars across the street, three were some shade of blue. The moon came out from behind a cloud. It was waning, not quite to a quarter yet. The bedroom door opened.

Isabel snapped around to look at the emerging occupant. Max had a gentle appearance, despite the weariness radiating from him. He was truly a father. It was at that moment she believed.

The next moments as Tess's fate was decided were strained and went quickly. Jesse had decided not to participate, understandably so. He had looked at his wife as she cast her vote, a tired gleam in his eyes as she said Alex's name. What was surprising was Liz's vote. She did not vote to turn Tess in to the Air Force.

The next morning, Liz and Tess were both missing. Isabel was the only one awake when Liz came back in. There was a peace to her, a slight satisfaction to her, that told Isabel Tess was gone. Dead. Justice was served. She turned away so Liz would not see the tears fall from her eyes as she wept once more for Alex.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Standard disclaimers apply. Read & Review, please.

_Seeker_

Chapter Four

It was now graduation day. According to Liz, recently dubbed the "Crystal Ball," much to Liz's annoyance, Max, Michael, Liz, and Isabel would all die soon.

Isabel looked at her husband in the mirror as she got ready for the ceremony. His tie was crooked, which was very unusual for him. He had also come home late, and Jesse was nothing but punctual. She dismissed him as she swiped her lashes with mascara. With an objective view, she determined that she looked great. She turned and walked out of the bathroom.

The soft smile that lit her eyes took Jesse aback for a moment. Then she focused on him, and the smile disappeared. He sighed.

"You should get ready," was all she said. She walked out their bedroom door. "I'll wait in the car." She pulled the door shut.

She was almost out the front door before she remembered her purse. Letting the front door close, she traced her path back to the bedroom. Just outside the door, she heard Jesse's voice. _Hmm. He must be on his cell phone. _She put her hand on the doorknob and paused in the act of turning the brassy knob.

"I told you, I'm still married to Isabel. I can't start a relationship with you until the divorce is finalized." His voice was cajoling and smooth.

Isabel's breath caught in her throat. She was frozen. The thought: _What divorce? _was followed by: _It's over. It's finally over. _His voice, words no longer heard, was coming toward the door. She hastily backed away and eased out of the house. She slipped into the passenger seat of the car and shut the door just as the house door opened to reveal Jesse hanging up his cell phone.

He jogged to the car and opened the driver's door. "You left your purse on the bed, Isabel." He tossed the purse onto her lap. He smiled at her. "I thought you might need it. Isn't your camera in there?"

She looked at him. He looked happier than he'd been recently. She smiled back. "Yeah. I wouldn't want to miss getting photos of everyone. Especially Michael. It's hard to get him to sit for me. Now he has no choice!" She laughed, and he joined her. The oppressive weight that had dragged at them both during the course of their marriage was lifted, and both felt the loss keenly.

The ride to the school went quickly. They found seats with her parents in the gymnasium. Greetings and hugs made, they sat and chatted about the soon-to-be-graduates. When the lights went dim, they quieted and turned their attention to the podium.

The principal said the perfunctory before-ceremony speech, welcoming all the families and congratulating the senior class. Students were called individually to come and accept their diplomas. A couple of the jocks were… exuberant, almost to the point of indecency, though they received a laugh from most of the audience. As the last students filed back to their seats, the principal rose to the podium again. He congratulated the senior class once again, to the applause of the students.

"So now it's my pleasure to announce… Hugo-award winner… international best-selling author… Bryce McCain." Those words, so casually given, stopped Isabel's heart. _Bryce McCain_. _Bryce McCain. Bryce McCain._

She turned to Jesse, the fear in her eyes evident. "I have to go."

"Hmm?" Jesse turned to her. "What was that, Isabel?"

"Jesse, that's him! I have to go," she whispered urgently.

Understanding dawned in his eyes. As well as a strange relief. _Of course. By leaving, I'm freeing him to be with someone else._ Thinking quickly, she twisted off her wedding and engagement rings. She pressed them into his hands. His eyes widened with comprehension and sadness. "Goodbye," she whispered. He nodded slightly.

She quickly explained to her parents, and left the gymnasium, preparing herself for leaving Roswell.

She was joined by Kyle, Maria, and Liz. Liz looked back at Max at the podium before she rushed down the hall with the rest of us. Just outside the doors, we saw Michael.

"Where's Max?" Urgency filled his voice.

"Michael! Michael, it's tonight!" Liz cried.

He looked at her. "I know. I saw government vans heading this way. Now, where's Max?" At that moment, no one doubted that Michael truly was second-in-command.

"Inside. He's giving a speech," Kyle said.

Michael nodded once and got back on his bike. "Go to the cliffs. We'll meet you there." His taillights were bright red pinpricks as he crashed through the doors and sped down the hallways of Roswell High.

Since then, so much had passed. Waiting for Max and Michael had been torturous, but they had gotten on the road in a van Jesse had brought to them. Jesse had also given Isabel back her wedding and engagement rings. A memory, he had whispered in her ear.

Max and Liz got married while they were on the road. Michael and Maria decided to wait until they were able to go back to Roswell for a visit to get married. And Isabel…

She continued to have strange dreams of the man to whom she was connected. Months of shared feelings with that stranger led her to greater control over her ability to dreamwalk while awake. She practiced with Kyle, who had become her confidant since they had left Roswell.

A couple months after Max and Liz's wedding day, everyone piled into a road-side diner for breakfast. Mumbled, sleepy chatter was intermixed with the sounds of eating. Isabel felt they had all become much closer than friends. They were family, now. A very tired and slightly grouchy family, but a close-knit family, nonetheless.

"You know, I was thinking." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked carefully at the person who had spoken. "Oh, don't look at me like that! I'm allowed to have thoughts!" Maria's miffed outburst caused a round of laughs, which turned a few heads in the diner. Their waitress, an aging woman who had been working at the diner since it's opening, smiled at the carefree sounds from her largest table.

"Alright Maria. I'm sorry," Liz apologized, squeezing her best-friend's hand in affection. "What were you thinking?"

"What if I don't want to tell you anymore?" Maria pouted. Liz just looked at her. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you. But no laughing, got it?" She looked at everyone. "Got it?" A round of nods pacified her. She sighed. "I was thinking we should split up." Seeing the looks she was now receiving from her tablemates, she hurried on, "Not permanently. Just… If a group of people of a _certain _number, around a _certain _age, all settle in one area…" She shrugged. "Well, you get my point."

Max shifted his scrambled eggs further from his toast. "I get your point, Maria." He looked at her sharply. "And I'm sure you have a more thought-out plan than "let's split up." So tell us what _exactly_ you think we should do." The approval in his voice was apparent, earning him a happy squeal from the now bubbly Maria.

She smiled beatifically. "You're right! I was thinking we would split up in pairs: Max and Liz; Izzy and Kyle; and Michael and me. We'll let off a pair at a time, a few hours from each other, different cities. It'd give us all a chance to settle down. I hate to be a downer, but I'm really getting sick of being on the road all the time."

Her argument struck everyone. The table's occupants looked at each other.

Max being Max, cleared his throat. "Alright. We'll vote." He looked at Liz. "What do you say, Liz?"

Liz squeezed his hand under the table. "I vote yes, in support of Maria's plan. Maria?"

"Of course, I vote yes! Michael?"

Michael looked at Maria. He shrugged. "Sure. Izzy, you're up," he said, turning back to his breakfast.

Isabel rolled her eyes at Michael. _Splitting up? But we're family…_ The familiar sensations of her open connection pulsed at her. _I could find you._ "Yes. I vote yes." She turned to Kyle.

He also shrugged. "Sounds good to me. You, Max?"

Eyes on his wife, "Absolutely." Liz blushed at his look.

"Great! I've got some locations already picked out. We'll discuss it more… but let's finish eating. I'm so hungry!" With renewed vigor, Maria plowed into her food.

And that was how Isabel and Kyle ended up signing the lease for an apartment in Kansas City, Missouri. Michael and Maria were eight hours away in Chicago, Illinois, and Max and Liz were four hours away in St. Louis, Missouri.


End file.
